Higher food prices are sending some U.S. consumers to their backyard gardens.
The trend is similar to the victory gardens of the Second World War that had Americans providing 40% of the nation’s vegetables.
Hello I’m Charlotte Bellis, and you’re watching Newsy.com.
MSNBC connects that past to today.
“Nearly 20 million Americans planted gardens from backyards to city lots. In 2009, community gardens are sprouting new plots in record numbers, from Los Angeles, to Atlanta, to Jackson, to Columbus, Huntsville, to Orlando.” (MSNBC)
MSNBC also says consumers will get big dividends for such a little investment, reporting in one case where a 200 dollar investment can help save a family thousands...
Some say the trend is getting a boost from Michelle Obama’s decision to plant an organic garden on the White House lawn.
Canadian Press talks to White House Chef Alice Waters, who says:
"This is the silver lining of this recession,...If [the White House garden] had come earlier, it would not have resonated the way it does now." (Canadian Press)
CBS News reports anyone can turn their lawn into a rich-producing garden.
“Anybody can garden they say. Most of this stuff was picked just today. This bounty from the Fotie family’s front lawn in suburban L.A. What used to look like this, now looks like this. They were led down the garden path by this man, architect Fritz Hay, who is out to change communities one front yard at a time. It happens to be one of the most wasteful, useless spaces. . . It’s such a natural thing to grow your own food, but such a radical thing.” (CBS News)
The Ottawa Citizen points out the gardens are all a part of consumers making more conscious choices.
"Part of that was the luxury of going to the grocery store . . . and that's the foundation of the food system we have today... We're now starting to see the breakdown of that fantasy. [P]eople are... interested to reconnect with their food." (Ottawa Citizen)
What do you think? Are you planting a recession garden this year or know anyone who has?
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